Thursday, May 7, 2009

Two Boys

A friend's birthday was coming up and I knew she was starting to look for art to put on her walls, so I thought I'd paint something for her.

Giving art to someone is a tricky business - especially if you make it yourself. What if they don't like it? Will they keep it in the closet and bring it out when you visit - or will you simply never see it again? It kinda blows to put time and effort into something that's not appreciated. Still, you try.

So I thought about what my friend's tastes were and I found an image I thought would appeal to her.

I painted it twice.

This version is closer to the natural colors.

I took some liberties with this one.I ended up giving her the top one because I thought the colors would work better in her rooms, but I have to say I really like the second one as well.

The top one is more about a calm mood, to me. When I look at it, I see the whole image. On the bottom one, my eyes jump to the colors. There's a sort of energy in the gold sand. The boy is darker and his highlights more dramatic.

It's funny to me how different they are. I may have to paint the same image twice more often.

I LOVE the painting! I agree with the early morning comment. It is going to go up in our new kitchen/family room. I think it looks perfect there. Side note: It also gives me hope that one day baby Jack will become the future Jack in the painting and will not scream but instead be calm looking out at the ocean - that will happen, right?:)